Web Accessibility Directive:
Frequently Asked Questions

These are frequently asked questions and answers on the EU Web Accessibility Directive.

The objective of this website is to support the implementation of the Directive and to provide reliable information and resources to those involved in buying, designing and monitoring websites or mobile applications, as well as users. This website is maintained by the Web Accessibility Initiative - Communities of Practice (WAI-CooP) Project.

10. Where can I learn about digital accessibility?

Watch these web accessibility perspectives videos to understand how different accessibility features are essential for persons with a range of disabilities, while being useful for all.

You can also:

11. Where can I find information about web accessibility training and certification?

The W3C WAI developed a free introductory online foundation course on web accessibility. The course is designed for technical and non-technical learners, including developers, designers, content authors, people with disabilities or anyone else who is interested.

The W3C WAI also has a list of digital accessibility training courses and certification.

The WAI Curricula provides role-based modules to help create and procure courses on web accessibility. It defines learning outcomes and provides ideas to teach and assess knowledge.

12. How do I start implementing digital accessibility?

Make sure you learn about digital accessibility so that you know how persons with disabilities use the web.

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has a range of resources for designers and developers including tips for designing and tips for developing, as well as resources to make audio and video media accessible.

For mobile applications, there are accessibility guidelines for Android, Apple and Microsoft.

Remember to consider accessibility throughout your project planning.

13. What resources are available to help design accessible websites and mobile applications?

The W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has a range of resources for designers and developers including tips for designing and tips for developing, as well as resources to make audio and video media accessible.

Mobile accessibility is covered in existing W3C web content accessibility guidelines. There are no separate guidelines for mobile accessibility.

You can find more information on mobile accessibility, as well as guidance on applying WCAG 2.0 to non-web information and communications technologies (WCAG2ICT) on the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) website.

For mobile applications, there are accessibility guidelines for Android, Apple and Microsoft.

33. What does the Web Accessibility Directive say about training and awareness-raising?

The Web Accessibility Directive states that Member States have to ‘promote and facilitate’ training programmes relating to the accessibility of websites and mobile applications for relevant stakeholders and staff of public sector bodies. These training programmes should be designed to train them how to create, manage and update the accessible content of websites and mobile applications.

Relevant stakeholders include organisations representing the interests of persons with disabilities, organisations of older people, as well as others, such as social partners or industry involved in the creation of accessibility software relating to websites and mobile applications.

Member States also have to take necessary measures to raise awareness of the accessibility requirements in the Web Accessibility Directive, of their benefits to users and owners of websites and mobile applications, and of the possibility of giving feedback in the case of any failure to comply with the requirements of the directive.

The directive states that Member States, in close cooperation with the Commission, should promote the use of authoring tools that allow better implementation of the accessibility requirements. Such promotion could take passive forms, such as publishing a list of compatible authoring tools, or active forms, such as the requirement to use compatible authoring tools or to fund their development.

When they report to the European Commission on their monitoring of the implementation of the Web Accessibility Directive, Member States have to provide information about training and awareness-raising activities.

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